DHSC: Supplier assurance information session for Social Care case management systems

Purpose of this notice

The Department for Education (DfE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) are inviting current and prospective suppliers of adults’ and children’s social care case management systems (CMSs) to participate in an information session.

The session will outline the government’s plans to explore a Catalogue Agreement as the assurance mechanism for the data and interoperability standards being developed through the adults’ and children’s social care Data Standards Programme (https://standard.socialcaredata.io/). It will explain why this approach is being considered, how the Catalogue Agreement is expected to operate in practice, and how suppliers can engage as the model develops.

About the Data Standards Programme

DfE and DHSC recognise the critical role that CMSs play in supporting the delivery of adult and children’s social care across local authorities. Engagement with local authorities, suppliers, and wider sector partners, has identified opportunities to strengthen how information is structured, shared and used both within and across the relevant organisations.

Building on existing work, including the Foundational Specification (https://www.bettergov.co.uk/blog/2025/09/foundational-specification) published last year, and through close alignment with other national data and information-sharing initiatives, DfE and DHSC are working to support local authorities and suppliers in realising these opportunities through a Data Standards Programme.

DfE and DHSC are working with Social Finance (https://www.socialfinance.org.uk/impact/closing-the-digital-gaps-that-put-children-at-risk), the Open Data Institute and Coram to deliver the Data Standards programme. The programme aim is to develop a core set of data and interoperability standards for social care CMSs to support more joined-up ways of working, improve the flow of information between systems, and promote greater consistency across the whole sector.

When implemented at scale, these standards are intended to:

• Enable earlier intervention by helping practitioners access the right information at the right time, including where information is held across multiple systems.

• Improve people’s experience of social care by supporting access to accurate and up-to-date information across organisations, improving the safety and quality of care, and reducing the need for people to repeat their stories.

• Improve analytics and decision-making by enabling better use of data to support planning, insight and decision-making locally and nationally.

About the Catalogue Agreement

The Digital Services Integrated Care (DSIC) Catalogue Agreement is a formal agreement between government and suppliers that sets out the responsibilities and commitments of both parties. It provides a structured approach to implementing standards, assuring supplier solutions, and maintaining a roadmap for future requirements.

For the Data Standards Programme, DfE and DHSC are exploring this approach as the assurance mechanism for data and interoperability standards. The Catalogue Agreement could provide a structured route for suppliers to demonstrate alignment with agreed requirements and support a consistent approach to standards adoption across the sector.

This approach is already used across parts of the NHS and adult social care (including GP IT and Digital Social Care Records). As an established model, it provides a familiar and transparent framework for supplier engagement, standards assurance and ongoing management of future requirements.